1:55pm: Manager Rob Thomson said on the NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast that Hoskins was eventually able to walk under his own power in the clubhouse (Twitter link via Matt Gelb of The Athletic). That doesn’t rule out a significant injury, but it’s at least cause for some cautious optimism. The Phillies are still doing initial waves of testing and don’t yet have a formal diagnosis.
12:55pm: The Phillies confirmed that Hoskins has suffered a left knee injury. They’ll provide further updates after Hoskins undergoes testing.
12:35pm: Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins was carted off the field just minutes ago following what looked to be a significant, non-contact knee injury during today’s Grapefruit League game against the Tigers (video link via FOX’s Ben Verlander). Hoskins was backtracking a short-hop grounder off the bat of Austin Meadows when he collapsed in obvious pain. He was tended to by the team’s training staff and EMTs before being helped off the field.
It’s a potentially brutal injury for a Phillies club that’ll already be without Bryce Harper for a significant portion of the 2023 season as the 2021 NL MVP recovers from Tommy John surgery. President of baseball ops Dave Dombrowski said yesterday that Harper won’t be placed on the 60-day IL for now, leaving open the possibility that he could return before May 29 this year. (Of course, the Phillies can retroactively transfer Harper to the 60-day IL any time they need a roster spot without further delaying his potential return.)
That’s two of the Phillies’ top power threats possibly sidelined for notable periods of the season. Hoskins put together the second 30-homer season of his career in 2022, batting .246/.332/.462 while chipping in 33 doubles and a pair of triples as well. He hit just .159 with a .205 on-base percentage during 69 postseason plate appearances, but the majority of the slugger’s hits were max-impact blows; he belted six home runs during postseason play, including a four-homer NLCS. Hoskins’ three-run blast and subsequent bat spike against Spencer Strider in the National League Division Series is one of the lasting images from Philadelphia’s remarkable postseason run in 2022.
If Hoskins is out for an extended period of time, the Phillies will likely turn first base over to 27-year-old Darick Hall, who made his big league debut in 2022 and hit .250/.282/.522 with nine homers in just 142 plate appearances. Hall has a productive minor league track record but is generally seen as a platoon player and displayed worrying strikeout (31.5%) and walk (3.5%) rates during last year’s debut. Speculatively, the Phils could give right-handed-hitting third baseman Alec Bohm reps at first base when facing lefty starters, with Edmundo Sosa or Josh Harrison sliding in at third base on those days.
From a personal vantage point, Hoskins’ injury comes at one of the worst possible times. He’s sitting on five-plus years of Major League service time and is slated to become a free agent for the first time in his career following the 2023 season. He’s the youngest and arguably best first baseman on next year’s market (depending on Josh Bell’s opt-out status). It’s a generally light market for position players next offseason, and Hoskins stands as one of the top power bats available.
Phew…..dodged that one! Fantasy League draft literally 1 hour ago and I almost picked him for my team.
Doesn’t sound good.
Nobody cares about your fantasy team.
My thoughts exactly.
Darrick Hall cares. He has a roster spot now at least until Harper gets back maybe longer.
Swinging wood: That’s a great PSA for anyone who participates in them.
And nobody cares about you home team fanboys crying about your teams and your GMs and hating on your rivals. We all follow baseball for different reasons. Fantasy leagues are the main reason for some of us. My favorite thing about it has always been the numbers, from the time I got my first pack of baseball cards and saw the stats on the back. His reaction to Hoskins’ injury is how anyone who almost drafted him would react. It doesn’t mean he is glad he got hurt or anything.
The first post being about his fantasy team instead of the real person was cold. And the second post was mostly true. Almost no one cares about his fantasy team, except maybe a few other cold-blooded people.
Hammerin’ Hank;
Interesting. Just curious….
Did you ever play any baseball? Be trained by a manager or coach?
Why would you talk about yourself when he might have suffered a significant injury?
Oh good grief. He’s injured not dying.
qbert, So he just showed lower level douchery and not extreme douchery then
Oh so now there’s levels of douchery? The point of comment earlier was stop being offended by stupid things.
So it is being offended to point out that someone made a moronic, selfish comment…no
Tell me you get no girls without telling me you get no girls
ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME
Mets, Phillies and Braves suffering big losses. All 3 teams are professional and will bounce back and provide a wingdinger of a season. I raise my beer to all the injured & hope they make it back unscathed.
Looks like the Hoskins haters fished their wish.
LOL Phillies fans.
“I’ll pee on your head, like a Phillies cap.”
-Eminem
Can’t believe we have major leaguers getting hurt with season ending injuries in MEANINGLESS EXHIBITION GAMES!!! If I was a GM I would ban my players for competing in…. oh wait. It was Spring Training. Oh, this sucks for him and the team. Completely unavoidable. Condolences.
the wbc and lizard people strike again
in all seriousness hope it’s nothing major but from the sounds of it not looking good hope the best for hos.
Just goes to show you can’t have enough players. The Mets and Padres’ spending sprees make a little more sense now.
I enjoyed the WBC.
@manny
i enjoyed the wbc myself i was just poking fun at all those that are blaming the wbc for some freak injuries
Reminds me of when I was covering basketball. Three different times I saw a player go down with a knee injury just bringing the ball upcourt. No one was around them. Their knees just gave out.
There are far more idiots whining about other people complaining about the WBC. How many people actually complained about the wbc? Not nearly as many as the mouth breathers who whine about it
Can I get your data source? I’d like to check the numbers for myself.
I still remember Teddy Bridgewater still with the Vikes in 2016 completely tearing his left ACL and dislocating his knee in training camp. All he did was drop back to pass in practice. Just throwing in drills. No Contact. Just dropped.
Love wbc and it isn’t going anywhere $$$. You need games to get ready so might as well have meaningful games instead of glorified practice. Rather watch wbc over regular season. Players in contending countries other than USA seemed to care more about wbc than regular season. I don’t watch spring training at all. Will use regular season for background noise if I have nothing else to do. Will go to some games since I can go for free. Wbc and October Madness Tournament I will catch some games.
But…but…but how could you? There was no pitch clock or shift ban?
If it had happened in the WBC, just another reason not to play in the WBC. At least Hoskins was supposed to be at Spring Training, doing what he is supposed to be doing.
If you see how it happened, it was a fluke. It wasn’t from pushing himself too hard.
Yeah Diaz was pushing himself super hard when he was celebrating.
And Altuve was pushing himself super hard when he got hit by that pitch
He was injured playing for the team that is paying his salary for the season, Better than some thrown together team that featured Japanese player Lars Nootbaar and Mexican Randy Arozarena and former WBC MVP for the US Marcus Stroman playing for Puerto Rico. Please tell me again how it is so wonderful for these players to represent their country.
No one forced you to watch. Apparently the players really enjoyed it, and MLB sees another cash stream, so it’s all good.
I didn’t watch. I don’t watch any jingoistic nationalism disguised as sports. But that is completely beside the point.
That’s my point. You didn’t have to watch, so why complain about something you don’t care about?
Because injuries occurring there directly affect something I do care about. I don’t bungee jump, but I would definitely complain about losing a player for the year that was injured during a bungee jump even if I didn’t watch him do it.
So you criticize players for valuing something you don’t value. Fair enough. But you have no stake in their lives, or what they do. You’re annoyed because your entertainment value has been decreased. Boo hoo.
You don’t have to cry about it. It’ll be okay.
Of course I am annoyed about my entertainment value. That is literally the only reason I care about any baseball player. I don’t know Rhys Hoskins or any other MLB player. I will likely never meet him and if I do, I seriously doubt we will become friends. The only reason I even know that he exists is his entertaining me while playing baseball. Entertainment is the only reason we are all here.
With 5 days or so left in spring training, I’d place the over/under on additional impactful injuries sustained by MLB clubs prior to the start of the regular season at about 3.5.
Awful news. Looked real bad. I hope this isn’t the end of his Phillies career. Injuries are piling up for the Phillies, and they may be tough to overcome.
Why would it be the end of his Phillies career? Is he a free agent at the end of the year or am I missing something?
Yes. That’s it exactly. He’s a FA next year. So if he’s out for the season, that’s a tragic end to a great Phillies tenure.
The free agent 1B pool is thin next year and uninspiring. Most of them are old. He’ll be among the youngest and they could try to sign him for a pillow deal.
I think they want to move Schwarber or Castellanos to the 1B/DH role, but we’ll see.
Problem is they have zero minor league hitting prospects at this time?
I wonder if this “might” open the door for Rojas….?
I figured that is why you said that. Thanks for the clarification!
I figured that’s why you said that lol. Thanks for the clarification!
Hoping for the best with Rhys but prepared for the worst. Really tough timing for him if it is an ACL.
Given the competition for the last roster spots, I don’t see the need for an outside move. And I think that the Phils have been looking at their options moving forward for 1B, and the obvious one is to move one of the DH bats there….Castellanos, Schwarbs or even Bryce if they are looking to minimize his injury risk. This just might make them move up the clock on that one.
Hall now has a slot, but it is hard to believe in him as a quality starter for years, rather than as a platoon filler bat…but maybe he surprises. I want to see them definitely keep Kingery around now.
CarverAndrews;
If you saw Castellanos play 3B I doubt you want him at 1B.
Next to the C and SS, the 1B handles the ball the most times.
1B handles the ball even more than short.
I wouldn’t worry. All they have to do is be better than whoever is weakest of MIL STL. 1b are easiest cheapest position to replace. As long as they have their big 3 starters and a top 15 bullpen for Tournament they will be fine.
w0w
Man…this injury bug is really biting league wide.
Despite his defensive deficiencies, Hoskins is my favorite player. This is disheartening to hear. Rhys makes up for his poor defense and slow running with wild hot streaks and especially with being a terrific teammate and community contributer. It’s going to hurt a bit for the Phils if Rhys Hoskins is out for a significant time on top of Bryce missing so much time already…
I don’t want to stir panic, but it certainly looked like a season-ending injury. Hoping for the best.
I don’t follow the Phillies but can definitely see how Hoskins can be such a fan favorite. Sorry to see him go down after reaching such highs as recently as the 2023 WS.
I picked the Phillies to win the World Series last year and I almost had it correct. I’ve picked the correct team dating back to 2018.
I also said I am picking the Phillies to not make the playoffs at all this year. Wheeler is going to battle injuries, as he was clearly being held back in the playoffs. Nola has never pitched as much as he did in 2022. The wear and tear will likely produce less than desirable results and Suarez is having elbow issues. Couple all that with Harper and now Hoskins, you won’t see the Phillies in the playoffs.
Again, I ask who makes it instead? I don’t really see the Cubs, Diamondbacks or Brewers making it, but this injury certainly hurts the Phils.
I could see
Braves
Mets
Cardinals
Dodgers
Padres
From there, I wouldn’t be terribly surprised to see
Brewers
Marlins
Long shots would be Giants or Diamondbacks, but not completely out of the question.
I just don’t see the Phils finishing below Brewers, Marlins and Giants. The Phillies rotation and lineup is too good for that. Hoskins injury would really hurt their chances at the division crown, but I still see them getting that 3rd WC. I see the same NL teams in the playoff picture as last year. Injuries can change everything though, and right now I’m very concerned about Hoskins.
Keep in mind that the and Padres have also suffered significant injuries to key players. Even the Dodgers lost Lux for the season. It will all even out.
@ryand44
imo i’m not sold on mil or mia, both teams have great pitching but weak offenses and mia d is questionable moving so many players out of pos. with mil unless some bats step up and yelich’s back problems are a thing of the past (i don’t see that as the case anyone i’ve talked to with back problems say the never go away) and he also need to get back to some form of his mvp years. i’m not going to sleep on the brew because they are a good team they just lack o
i also think arz and sf have a better shot of a wc, i like the young players that arz has and i think there gonna surprises people this year but there a year or 2 away as for sf that’s just more of a gut feeling and they seem to have a knack of surprising everyone when they are counted out
Besides Musgrove, who is expected to pitch by mid April or May. Who else suffered a significant injury?
Musgrove said yesterday that he is not going on the IL and is targeting a start in game 7.
@Brodie
The Brewers have a clear path to the WC playing in the NL Central. I predict STL wins the division and the Brewers win one of the wcs.
VonPurpleHayes
I just don’t see the Phils finishing below Brewers,
=====================
They only finished one game ahead of them last year, so it is entirely possible.
Once they canned Girardi, the Phillies played. 585 ball over 111 games. Its 94 wins over 162 games. That is quite a bit better than the other WC teams.
The Phillies record last year was deceiving. They didn’t have a backend rotation, bullpen, SS, CF or manager until after the trade deadline. They were one of the better teams in baseball after July. They’ve added Trea Turner. They have a real rotation. They have a bullpen. They have a manager. They have a CF. The playoffs is always a crapshoot, but the Phillies underpermed early last year. They are a much better team after the offseason moves. It’s fair to disagree of course, but really the 2022 team was better than their record showed. Even with these huge injuries, Phils are still better than 85 wins.
I don’t think fans will be licking their chops to play the nl central next year. Reds might be nice to play this year unless you draw Lodolo Greene. Don’t want to face the Pirates no matter who starts. They aren’t good by any means but they actually decided they have too much talent to finish in the bottom 4 so might as well field a respectable team. Cubs are average. I don’t see those 12 extra games as having a significant advantage.
There is always hope and possibly surprises. I didn’t see the Giants taking the division over the Dodgers. But a lot would have to go right for SF ARZ. MIA might be a little more promising.
I agree that it’s possible but I think the balanced schedule will help the tougher divisons win more games playing the nl and al central as opposed to 19 games each in divison.
Barring injuries, I definitely see the Brewers making it. Now that Diamondbacks, that’s pushing it.
@lamars
ok the dbacks might be a stretch and maybe i’m buying too much in the hype but the remind me of last years o’s team.
far as being in the nlc that doesn’t really help anymore other than you just have to worry about 1 team beating you in the standings.
@brodie
Of course it does, do you see the Reds and the Pirates being competitive? Do you really see the Cubs being that much improved? Take the Giants, they play in the competitive NL West and still have an outside chance at making the wc. Why? Because while they aren’t a flashy team they are very competitive.
@lamars
with the balanced schedule the nlc teams won’t see each other that often so both the cards and brew don’t get to beat up on cin and pit like last year. i’m not counting out the brew but if some guys don’t step up and start hitting for the brew i don’t see them winning more than 87 games.
The cubs? Really?
The Brewers are good. Really good. I get that a quick glance at their roster or last year’s stat sheet doesn’t immediately impress. But they play a different brand and their guys know how to win.
I like them a lot. I just think with a tougher schedule this year, only one NLC tean will make the playoffs. Brewers or Cards in my eyes. Could be wrong.
The balanced schedule hurts both Central divisions the most. Their division winner will be the only central team to make the playoffs and will be out in one series. Again.
I think the balanced scheduled is over-hyped. Yes, the Cardinals beat up on the Reds and Pirates last season. But they played well against the Braves, Yankees, Mets, and even the Dodgers. They also got destroyed by the Marlins and Nationals. The Phillies flat out had our number last season. I don’t attribute our sad showing in the playoffs to a huge disparity in talent between the two clubs. We just didn’t match up well against them. I expect the Cardinals record to be very close to what it was last season.
@don
it’s been a long time since i felt this good about a cards team my only concern is how mo is going to handle the deadline and fix the holes that are going to pop up
Agreed. The Brewers are a very good competitive TEAM. The sum of their parts (typically) makes up for the lack of *star* players.
The Cardinals had 48 wins vs 28 losses against the NL Central. A .631 win percentage. They were 45-41 outside the NL Central. A .523 win percentage.
Hope he recovers.
He’s injured. He’s not in a coma. Sheesh
And I’m just trying to be nice. Sheesh
Hate to see anything like that happen, I hope it looks worse that it actually is.
Spikes got caught transitioning from dirt to grass? Another tough break Phillies fans. Wish him a speedy recovery!
WBC claims another victim
I hope your’e joking as this happened in Spring Training not the WBC.
Are you sure there?
Knee injury? Check. Meaningless game? Check.
MUST BE THE WBC
COULDNT POSSIBLY BE SPRING TRAINING PLAYERS ONLY GET HURT IN “MEANINGLESS GAMES” LIKE THE WBC
Just posted the same thing without seeing this. You beat me to it
What’s WBC stand for? Will Be Cartedoff?
Precisely
Too bad only a week out, hopefully he’ll be alright
NOPE! Lol
My God. Poor guy. Hope a la Nimmo it looked a lot worse than it actually is
Between Harper and Hoskins, Darick Hall is going to be an everyday player now I assume, right? Already has looked good this Spring and in his brief run last year.
Darick Hall to Rob Thomson’s rescue. Don’t worry Phillies, the season hasn’t begun and this may look bad like Nimmo’s but be not so bad. Harper is working towards getting back and the Phils can get thru this. Seems like a lot of injuries this Spring for a lot of teams. Injuries are part of the game. Strong farm systems help
I like Hall but as with every small-sample breakout, I suspect his success will depend on whether Hall adjusts to the league or the league’s pitchers adjust to Hall over his second season.
Any Phillies fans see especially good reasons to assume Hall will adjust, or any potential adjustments you think he’ll have to make to become a consistently productive major league hitter?
I’m pessimistic on Hall. Phils fans tend to judge Hoskins very harshly because he’s streaky, but Hall mashed in a very small sample size. He’s a platoon player at best IMO.
Phillies and Mets …… See you in 2024
Yep. Losing a above average 1b and closer opened the door for Miami and Arizona.
Edwin Diaz, Raisel Iglesias, and now Hoskins, seems like all the NL East contenders are starting with a handicap,
It seems the only top team that hasn’t suffered an injury to a top player is the Braves. Success in a season usually comes down to who is the healthiest.
Their closer is currently out. That’s fairly significant.
Yep, for the East Contenders, the Mets have Ottavino and Robinson to fall back on and the Braves have Minter. Unfortunately, the Phillies don’t have anyone to replace Hoskins. Hopefully, it’s not a season ending injury.
They have Hall to replace him. If they platoon him then Sosa can play third and Bohm at first. That being said – there’s no “replacing” the guys you mentioned. They will do their best to fill the holes and Sosa/Hall is certainly better than nothing.
Agreed, while Ottavino and Robinson aren’t Diaz they both have closer experience, Minter has limited experience and Iglesias isn’t expected to miss much time. And while Sosa/Hall can replace Hoskins their production won’t match his.
Hopefully it’s not a season ending, he’s a dude for this Philadelphia lineup.
Having the emt’s out there is not a good sign, I’m afraid.
He should’ve just played in the WBC! None of this useless, trash, exhibition spring training stuff! Get rid of spring training!! Waaaah
Haha, and without spring training there would be more injuries.
PTBNL Trade for voit maybe?
Rub-Roh Rillies!
Awful to hear, the impact and leadership Rhys brings on the field for the PHILS will be missed for however long he is out. Best wishes on a speedy recovery.
Phillies are so overrated 1B, 2B, 3B, CF, RF, DH are all below average for them now.
The Phillies season might be over before it even started. They are going to have to manage to keep their heads above water for the first half of the season. Another lengthy injury and it might be time to start planning for 2024.
lol
lol their worst defender and mediocre hitter (yes, those hot streaks last 2 weeks and it’s misery the rest of the time) gets hurt and the team is sunk?
Mediocre hitter lol…
@darren
same could of been said about the 21 braves
Damn
I’m hoping it’s only a sprain or something where he misses 4-6 weeks. this really sucks especially with it being a week from opening day. if was early in spring training DD would have had a full month to work something out. Please be okay Rhys!!!
Hate the Phillies but also hate this for Hoskins. Too many dang injuries so far this spring. Prayers up.
Love the Scrooge McDuck avatar. I’m a big Carl Barks fan.
White Sox sitting on Gavin Sheets and Jake Burger. You can get both. Sheets is solid enough as a stick. Never been impressed with Hoskins anyway. We kinda like the Grif McGarry kid in the minors.
Somehow Mr. Dombrowski and the FO are going to come out of this.
Am looking forward to yet another Houdini act on their part.
Utterly terrible!!! Never want to see this. I hope it’s not serious. Mad respect for that guy. I’m sorry Phils Phans.
Luke Voit will have a job soon.
Hopefully DD has made a call or two already….
Moustakas has been destroying the ball in Arizona and the Rockies don’t really have a spot for him.
Cave and Hall both had nice springs.
Looks like Kingery and Clemens might both be on the roster when the season starts.
Voit stays in MKE, and they ship Keston to Philly. For a half eaten Philly cheese steak.
On the defensive spectrum we all knew Hoskins was deficient, but I wonder how Hall is in comparison? Not much has been said @his defense and the Phils weren’t going to move Hoskins off of 1b for a rookie….
If they don’t go the Voight etc route, how much of a defensive upgrade will Hall actually be…?
Yeah. Hall is not a good defender either. If it’s an improvement, it’s a slight one, and he cannot provide anywhere near the offense and quality ABs that Hoskins can.
Torn ACL
I’m a fan of Rhys. He always looks like a threat up there. I’ve come to understand he has prolonged bad stretches? Always been interested in him becoming the rangers 1b and moving lowe to dh, but I don’t think Rhys is much of a glove either. Still 2 spots there. Hope he dodged a major injury for his sake
You think you’re funny, but you’re not.
You think you’re replying to someone, but you’re not.
If that were true, you wouldn’t be replying to me.
How about Gurriel to Phils?
The first bidder for Seth Brown has now surfaced…
Seth would be good here…
Is Voit going to make the Brewers? If not, insert here
Curse the WBC for all these injuries.
LOL
The Strip Club and the Jewelry Store.
I’ll bet you can get journeyman Jonathan Schoop on the next plane. Call Scott Harris for details!
I hate this for ANY player. hope he gets better soon.
Was he “carted” or “hauled?” For Pete’s sake let’s pin this down.
Has anyone compared the Phillies to Rocky Balboa yet? I hear that Philadelphia has the determination and blue collar grittiness to overcome steep odds and gut punches- much like the fabled boxer from that famous movie Rocky!
What a dumb take.